Retribution
by Saikotic
Summary: Mai Otome. Peace has been restored to the land, and Windbloom is better than ever. But what darkness lurks in the ancient realms?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I WISH I DID!!!

Yay a Mai Otome story! And a couple hints from Zwei, but nothing major. I'm trying to stick to the politics and stuff as best I can, but if something doesn't match up to the story, BUT if it makes sense, let it be.

Also for the sake of easiness, Youko/Yohko is Yoko. And of course, SHIZNAT!! And others that I can try.

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Retribution – Chapter 1

Nao sighed, she was bored. She stood on the high stone wall bordering the cold, quiet country of Artai. Looking out over the landscape at small town settled on the horizon, she started to count how many houses she could see. The sun was starting to set behind the small town as she tore her eyes away from it. She yawned and leaned on one arm on the wall. She wished something would happen, even though she was there to prevent any trouble, this was utter torture. There wasn't anything else alive and moving, anything to do. Without really thinking, she extended a thing red string from her index finger and swiped at one of the bricks in the wall, leaving a clean cut in its place. It fell on the outside of the wall and echoed loudly on the rocks below. Amused, Nao cut another brick free and let it clatter loudly.

"What's that noise?" Mai asked over their earpieces. Nao rolled her eyes

"I think I'm being attacked." She muttered. "Or I'm hallucinating from boredom."

"We aren't here to have a good time Nao, quit slacking off or I'll have Mikoto come to you and make sure you don't." Mai snapped. Nao sighed, the thin red string disappearing.

_It might not be so bad to have her come over, _she thought. Mikoto's random personality would keep her amused at least. She straightened her posture and turned around, facing away from the setting sun. A few stars were visible faintly in the sky already. And of course the Hime star next to the moon. It flickered excitedly. It made Nao think of a small child begging for candy, as a swift whack over her head brought her back.

"Ouch!" She turned around to see Mikoto smiling blissfully at her holding her staff, wearing her black and white robes. "The hell was that for?!"

Mikoto smiled even wider. "Mai said go watch Nao." Nao growled and yelled into her earpiece.

"I thought you said you'd make her come if I was slacking off!"

"And you were, or were going to anyway." Mai said pointedly.

"Tsk, whatever. How much longer do we have left till Chie comes and takes over?" Nao huffed.

"Only another half hour, so just make sure no one leaves on that side." Mai had a hint of irritation in her tone. "You know why we have to do this. And Mikoto, go over a little bit on the south side."

"Hai! Mai!" Mikoto turned on her heel and ran off, but not before whacking Nao again. She growled rubbing her head, but resumed gazing at the sun, which was almost consumed by the horizon now. Things were starting to get hectic around Windbloom. One of the Otome from Chie's squad had reported she evesdropped two men discussing the plans for breaking someone out of jail. It wasn't just any jail though, it was the highest jail in Artai, almost completely isolated on a dangerous cliff. That changed the importance of the situation significantly. Only the most dangerous criminals went there, for serious crimes. One of them, and one of the most dangerous ones there was Nagi Dái Artai, who previously tried to take over Windbloom by manipulation, then by force. He had almost succeeded as well, but with the Arika Yumemiya and the Five Columns, including Nao herself, he fell from his power and was imprisoned for life. If he were to ever be broken out of there, it wouldn't take a genius to tell you he'd be hell bent on reclaiming his power and no doubt coming back for Windbloom. With an even more sinister and deadly plan, and a blind lust for power.

_How could a _kid _be starving for so much power? _Nao thought to herself. It seemed kind of absurd for a fifteen year old boy to be blind with lust. Then again he was the heir to the throne, he wouldn't know anything else but power. She resumed her lazy position on the ledge, as the sun was now completely gone from view, leaving a beautiful sight, and the sky splashed with color. Lights were on in the small town now, lightning up streets and houses. She glanced over to the south edge of the wall, seeing what Mikoto was doing. She seemed utterly fascinated at the stars popping up in the sky now. Nao almost envied how easily amused she could be at times like this.

"Ok, Chie is on her way, we can get going now." Mai said. Nao could see her in her Meister robes flying over towards Mikoto. Nao donned her own robes and hovered off the wall.

"It's about time." She muttered. Mikoto climbed onto Mai's back, and she flew over towards Nao.

"Did you see anyone that looked like the two suspects descriptions?" She asked, referring to the two men that were talking about the prison bust. Nao shook her head lazily. "It might help if you were looking though…" She glanced back over the wall at the town, one last time. As Nao turned around, Chie and her team of three came flying up.

"Yo there!" She said heartedly. "So how'd it go?" Nao gave her a lazy glare at her cheerfulness.

"The most exciting job in the world, I almost had a heart attack." Nao gently floated past Chie.

"Wonderful." Chie smiled brightly. "Mai, thanks for waiting for us, we'll take over now."

"Thank you Chie." Mai returned her smiled. "We'll see you back later!" Mai sped off past the group and Nao followed suit, relieved of boredom. Chie waved back at them and turned to her three teammates, her face taking a more serious tone.

"Ok, you remember who we're looking for right?"

"Hai!" The three exclaimed together.

"Good, then take the positions from our previous round." The three Otome flew off in separate directions. Though as soon as they did, Chie spotted something. Below the wall. A figure moving. And then she spotted another. She reached up to her earpiece and twisted it. It sent out a beep in Morse code, and her three teammates immediately descended to the walls for cover.

Chie whispered. "There's two men walking to each other down there, do you see them?"

There was silence for a moment, then, "Yeah I see them."

"I don't-oh, there!"

"They look just like the other two! At least, the one does." Chie hovered down to the wall to get a closer look. Though it was dark, she could still make out the figure. One had black hair, wearing black clothes to blend into the night, and the other figure had a cloak on.

"Move in stealth." Chie silently descended down the wall and onto the ground. The other three did the same. "Stay frosty, we don't know if they're armed."

"I've scanned their heat waves, it doesn't look like it, unless they're concealed." Aya said.

"Don't let your guard down though." Kimiko warned.

"Sakura, move in and prepare to capture them on my signal."

"Hai." Chie could barely make out her shadowy figure in the night moving across the landscape. As she approached the two men, she reached up and took her hat off, and squeezed her hand into a fist and threw it into her hat. Suddenly a black hole popped up near the men as they were struck in the face, causing them to collapse. Sakura quickly hovered around them, tying them together and knotting it firmly.

"Go!" Chie flew over to the two men as the two other joined her. It was almost totally black outside now, and Aya held up her hand, creating a small but bright flame in the palm of it. She could see the black haired mans face now. Rough and old, with a gnarly scar across his nose and cheeks, and a nasty looking black beard. Kimiko cautiously removed the others hood, revealing an almost identical man. The only difference was this man looked much younger, he couldn't have been much older than Chie herself.

"We have pervious reports of you two meeting and talking about a jail break from the Artai prison and are here to apprehend you. Do you deny the accusations?"

"No." Came the older mans rough voice.

"Well that makes things easier. You will be taken in to Windbloom custody for questioning." Chie glanced questioningly at the younger man. A smirk now developing across his face.

"That'd be perfect." He spoke in a strange accent she had never heard before. Sakura looked completely dumbfounded at their reaction.

"Alright…then, lets get going." Chie said, as Kimiko reached down to help Sakura hold the two men bound by the rope, and hovered off the ground. They all flew high into the sky, now covered in twinkling stars.

"Even if you did catch us, it's too late" The younger man grunted. All four Otome looked at him, confused and curious.

"Explain yourself." Chie demanded. The younger man just started giggling gaily, as though he were going insane. Chie felt uneasy now…something wasn't right. She turned back to pay attention to where she was going and accelerated.

_We have to get back to __Windbloom__ ASAP…this can't be good._

* * *

Natsuki turned in her chair looking out the large window, as a strange feeling came over her. The brightly lit city of Windbloom quietly resting in the valley. Her stomach did a strange roll as that feeling hit her. Something…a feeling of prelude. She sighed as her headache returned, and she turned back around to her desk, to look back at some papers. The school year was about to end, and she had to prepare the arrangements for the fieldtrip in the summer. Natsuki had been losing considerable amounts of sleep lately, from all the reports and papers she had been dealing with. She could feel her eyes sinking, begging for sleep, but she ignored it and continued organizing her papers.

"I'll have to make this more organized next year…" She muttered to herself. "And easier to do." Organizing the papers into classes, and matching them up to their partners, it seemed it was as complex as it could be. She crossed out a couple names, a few students who wouldn't be able to make it to the field trip. She had to recreate an alternate test for them as well. She dropped her pen and dropped her head into her hands. She almost felt nauseous at how tired she was, and all the work she had to do. She looked around the quiet, moonlit room. She was alone in there. The silence greeting her ears happily. Suddenly her mind wondered to other things. Too tired to comprehend her own thoughts, she looked back down at her papers, that seemed to stare back at her like little heathens. She reached for her pen to continue her work, but felt herself sagging down. Her grip on her pen weakened as her head collided with the desk and lost consciousness on contact.

* * *

"We're back!" Mai said, as she landed back at Garderobe, as Yoko came out to greet them. Nao landed at her side shortly after, as she dismissed her robes on contact with the ground.

"Anything to report?" Yoko asked the three.

"Well a redhead tried to take down the wall but Mikoto stopped her." Mai glared at Nao out of the corner of her eyes. Nao saw Mai's irritated look.

"Honestly, what else did you expect of me? Can't you get someone else to go on these stupid scout missions?"

"Your powers are ideal for capturing suspects, you know why you have to go on them." Yoko said. "We have to keep a watch on Artai to make sure no remaining militants try to overpower Windbloom, or Aries for that matter. Nagi was a huge public icon there, and a lot of the public agreed with his ideals for 'a better world', so we have to make sure no one tries to recreate that insanity."

Nao groaned. "I knoooww, but still, _someone's _gotta have powers like mine, right??" Mai sighed exasperatedly.

"If we find someone else we will gladly replace you." She said, struggling with Mikoto, as she was still clinging onto her as if she were the best thing in the world. Nao rolled her eyes and turned to leave.

"I'm heading home then." Nao strode down the steps, not entirely clear where exactly she was going. Just somewhere.

Mai and Mikoto went back in Garderobe lab with Yoko. Nao glanced up at the Hime star by the now brightly glowing moon. What time is it? She had no idea since she got back. Assuming it was around midnight, she started off towards a bar on the edge of the city, not far from where she was now. Out of the corner of her eye, the blue star flickered violently, and then returned to being gentle and calm. Nao shot her eyes up towards it. Weird…it doesn't usually flicker like that. Nao stood for a moment, watching it. A strange feeling forming in the pit of her stomach now. Aa soon as this registered, she tore her eyes away from it and grunted the feeling away. She continued walking now down the back alleys.

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"Natsuki." Shizuru said quietly, as she opened the door to her office. It was lovely in the moonlight. Her own desk to her right, against the wall, and the small couch on the left wall. She could make out Natsuki hunched over her desk. Smiling to herself, Shizuru stepped into the office and closed the door silently. She strode over to her desk, to find Natsuki sleeping peacefully on her paperwork. Shizuru walked around to the other side of the desk, gently placed a hand on her back and whispered in her ear, "Na-tsu-ki."

"Nn…wha." Natsuki muttered absently, her eyes still closed. Shizuru began running her fingers gently through her long blue hair.

"You really shouldn't push yourself this much, it isn't good for your health."

"I'mfinnne." She slurred her words as she lifted her head slowly and weakly. Shizuru placed her hands on her shoulders. Natsuki almost looked drunk. How fun it would have been if she was.

"Come to bed, now." Shizuru pulled Natsuki gently to her feet. She pulled her away from her desk and towards the door, Natsuki staggering along, leaning against Shizuru. They exited the office, and continued a short way down the hall. Shizuru opened the door to Natsuki's room and led her inside. Her room was almost as big as the office, two dressers against the walls, and a large window opposite them. Her bed was adjacent to the door. She set Natsuki on her bed and took her jacket off and took her hair pin out, and hung it up on the wall. Natsuki looked incredibly dazed as she sat on her bad, swaying this way and that way. Shizuru smiled as she walked back over to her.

"HeyshShizuru." She mumbled, as Shizuru gently pushed her down into the bed.

"Yes?"

"Is my suit here?"

"Yes, it's here. I'll bring it to you tomorrow." Shizuru said as she pulled the covers up on the half conscious headmaster. "Now get some rest." As if on cue, Natsuki's eyes fluttered shut and instantly fall asleep. She was unbelievably adorable when she was asleep. Shizuru smiled at her cuteness, and was about to stand up to leave, when she decided against it. Instead, she climbed under the covers with Natsuki and snuggled up against her, resting her head on the headmasters shoulder and her arms warpped around her gently. Shizuru lightly kissed the girls cheek. "Sleep well." She whispered as she closed her eyes and began to sleep.

* * *

"Erm…Yoko…I don't think you should drink that!" Mai swiped the bottle of gin out of Yoko's hands.

"Aww but it's so niiice and you're so sexy…" Yoko's cheeks were already flushed with drunk. It took nothing to intoxicate this woman.

"You become super lesbian with alcohol, and I'm not like that! That's something for Shizuru to deal with!!" Mai grunted as she dodged Yoko diving after her, trying to grab her.

"Drink some of that then!" Yoko smiled at Mai stupidly as she staggered around. Mai sighed and turned to Mikoto.

"Why in the world did you have alcohol with you Mikoto?!" Mikoto turned away from the lab screens flickering lights and looked curiously at Mai.

"Alcohol?"

"Yes! That's what-HEY!" Yoko had grabbed Mai from behind, and yanked the bottle free of her grasp. Yoko danced away taking another huge gulp of it. Mai groaned in defeat, afraid of what was to come.

"I wanna try some!" Mikoto leaped up from the floor and ran towards Yoko.

"Oh god no!" Mai launched herself at Mikoto and pinned her to the floor. "Who _knows_ what on earth you'd do if you were drunk!"

"Hey!! Mai! Nao?!" Chie's voice echoed throughout the lab. Mai looked around, Chie wasn't suppose to be back for a few more hours…

"Chie?"

"Come quickly! We've captured the two suspects and-hey!" Chie flinched as Yoko grabbed her breasts. "Oh my." Mai stood up and ran towards Chie to help pry Yoko off, Mikoto following her. She restrained Yoko and turned to Chie

"What's going on?"

"Somethings not right…the two men we caught. They're planning something big." Chie's face was serious.

"At the castle prison?" Mai asked. Chie nodded. "Alright, Mikoto!" She summoned her robes on again, and Mikoto climbed on her back. Chie grabbed the now tied up Yoko and they both flew into the night sky towards the castle.

_This isn't good…at all. __Windbloom__ is in incredible danger now if our suspicions are correct._

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OK!! It might take a while for the next chapter, but I'll keep at it! I've got it all planned out so don't fret! Though I wouldn't mind some coupling recommendations, that isn't Shiznat splitting.

If something looks funny, like a word got left out, I had some problems trying to upload this, so forgive me! Also is the big fan grave place just called Garderobe or is it called something?


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Nope.

Also, I should say this story is ACTIONY! Not a couples story. Though it does have them and couple moments in it, that's not the focus of this story. Just to make that clear.

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"Headmaster, there's an emergency!" 

Natsuki stirred a little, slowly opening her eyes at the sound of the urgent voice.

"Wha…?"

"Please get up and come to the castle immediately!" Natsuki heard footsteps as they faded away, and she assumed it was Yoko who ran off. She sat up in her bed as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes, and turned to look at the time. It was six twenty-two. It didn't register until then that she was in her room. _How did I get here…?_

"Ah, Natsuki is awake." Natsuki jumped and almost flipped out of her bed. She turned to look towards the doorway that linked Shizuru's room with her own, and there she was, standing in the doorway. "I have your suit for you."

"Shizuru…did you bring me here…again?" Natsuki was still half asleep, even though she surprised her. Shizuru smiled gently at her as she walked over to her bed.

"Yes. You really should try to put aside work more." She laid Natsuki's uniform on her bed. "Although I don't mind carrying Natsuki to bed, I'm concerned about her health." Shizuru gave her a look that seemed to dare her to say something back. Natsuki felt herself flush violently at her words as she looked away.

"Shiz-bah, go get dressed and I'll meet you outside!" She got out of bed as Shizuru giggled quietly. She cast Natsuki one last adoring look before turning to return to her room. Natsuki sighed, if words would kill her it would be the teasing ones from Shizuru. She looked at her new uniform lying on her bed. It was quite formal and impressive. A black waistcoat with silver buttons, and a white collar shirt. Full length black slacks with a blue stripe running down the each side. Even a new blue coat, identical to her old one, but with a light blue trim around the collar aswell, and a shoulder board on the left shoulder. She took off the clothes she had on, and put on her new uniform. She felt bold and elegant in it as she reached down to her nightstand to grab her hairpin. She pulled her hair back and set it in place. She made her way to the door and stepped outside, closing it quietly. She walked a short ways to Shizuru's door and waited there, playing with the cuffs of her coat. A few minutes later, Shizuru stepped out of her room, pausing as she saw Natsuki. She seemed stunned for a moment before shutting her door.

"Ara ara...that looks incredible on you." She said dreamily, as she stepped away a little to take in her new look. Natsuki averted her eyes shyly.

"You think…?"

"Indeed… " Shizuru's eyes flickered a moment, as she turned back to the door to her room. "There is one more thing." She walked inside, and a couple moments later came back with a pale dark blue cape.

"What is that?"

"Another part to your uniform." Shizuru walked around Natsuki and hooked the cape onto her shoulders. It fell to a few inches off the ground.

"How does it look?"

"Simply handsome…" Shizuru said admiringly. Something in her tone made a chill run down Natsuki's spine. She liked it.

"We should get going…we've taken a lot of time." Shizuru nodded and followed Natsuki down the hall.

* * *

Mai stood by the one way window of the interrogation room. The two captives sat in chairs, handcuffed. Mikoto stood by them along with Sakura, from Chie's squad. Mai was slightly irritated. Chie and she had tried to interrogate the both of them for information, but they refused to speak to anyone other than Natsuki Kruger. They didn't say why. She watched as one of them glanced at the window, perhaps trying to see through it. The two men looked odd to her…unnatural. Trained from birth to be assassins or criminals of whatever nature perhaps. Artai had an interesting background with unique criminals. Never know what you're going to find. She sighed and glanced over at the now unconscious Yoko, slumped against the wall. If Natsuki can't get anything out of them, Yoko would no doubt have some interesting medicines to prompt them. She heard distant footsteps down the hall as she turned to see Shizuru and…Natsuki, in a different uniform? She blinked a little, looking their way. 

"What'd I miss?" Mai jumped and whirled around. Nao was standing behind her with her hands in her pockets.

"God Nao! Don't do that! Where in the world were you?" Mai snapped at the younger girl irritably.

"Well I was bored, and I saw you and Chie flying around, n' thought I'd follow." Nao looked through the one way glass. "I see we caught some goodies."

"Mai, have you managed to get anything out of the two captives?" Natsuki walked up to the two girls, Shizuru at her side. Mai took in Natsuki's new, very impressive uniform.

"Uh…No, sorry. They refused to speak to us, they only want to talk directly to you." Natsuki looked curious at her words, as she turned to look at the two in the room. "By the way, I love your new look."

Natsuki snapped her head round to look back at Mai, a little startled by her comment. "Oh, thank you." She walked towards the steel door that separated the rooms, and with little effort pulled open the heavy door. She stepped inside and let it slowly closed behind her.

"Ah, Headmaster!" Sakura said as she turned and bowed slightly. Mikoto turned to her with a smile on her face.

"You two go wait outside with the others, please." They both nodded and walked out of the room. The man facing Natsuki looked up at her with a dark expression.

"Ah…Natsuki Kruger, Headmaster of Garderobe and second of the five columns, what an honor." He snarled the last three words. The other man behind him turned his head lazily to look at her. Both of them looked ragged and lifeless.

"First off, tell me your names." Natsuki watched them with a stern look on her face as she strode around the two men, the younger looking one never taking his eyes off her. The older looking man kept his head half hung, as he spoke in a gruff voice.

"We don't have names." The younger one held his icy stare as Natsuki looked questioningly at the older man.

"Fine then, what are you planning to do at the Artai prison?" She stopped by the one way glass and faced the two, placing her hands behind her back. The younger man, still fixedly staring at her, gave a quick laugh, almost coughing. The older one glanced awkwardly at his partner, and turned his gaze to Natsuki. A dangerous glint in his eyes, Natsuki felt a little uneasy at his stare, but didn't flinch.

Outside, Shizuru stood close to the door, watching intently if one of the captives were to attack. Mikoto had slumped against the wall next to Yoko, half asleep. Mai stood a short ways from Shizuru watching the two men's bizarre actions. Nao was leaning against the wall, clearly bored and uninterested. The silence was overpowering to Sakura, standing on the other end of the window. She broke the silence.

"What do you think they're saying?" Mai turned to look at her.

"Who knows, but if they were talking about the highest prison in Artai, it can't be good…" Mai looked back into the small room. "Taking a wild guess, if they want to speak directly and only to Natsuki, it may be about Nagi…" Nao glanced up at the older girl, as Sakura stared blankly. The small girl reminisced about the chaos that had descended, that had almost consumed Windbloom. Thinking about it reoccurring terrified her.

"You don't think it will happen again, do you?" She asked shyly.

"It's not easy to break out of that prison, and since we've captured what seems to be the only two suspects involved in this conspiracy, I don't think the chances of that happening again are very good." Mai said. She heard the other girl sigh. Mai shifted awkwardly, thinking about the past, questioning herself, wondering if this was a precursor to something just as big. No doubt it would be bigger and more destructive than before. Back then they just barely managed to overcome Nagi. If it happened again, chances are Windbloom's very existence would hang in the balance. Shizuru felt the tension growing within the two girls near her. She cast a glance at them both, seeing concentrated looks on their faces. She herself was a little concerned with what this might bring on for the future. Thinking ahead, she was considering the alternative of sending a group to Artai to check out the prison and see if there's been anything suspicious, depending on what Natsuki gathered from these two.

Something caught Shizuru's eye and she snapped her gaze back to the room. The younger man, who looked almost feral now, was standing on his feet crookedly, as he was still handcuffed to the chair. Shizuru instinctively reached for the door as Mai tensed. Noticing Natsuki hadn't moved from her position of standing there, Shizuru relaxed a bit. Mai stood ready to intervene if necessary. As she watched Natsuki, she found herself impressed by her composure. Mikoto slowly opened her eyes, trying to focus on Mai. She groaned a little as her stomach growled.

"Maaiii, I'm hungry." Mai turned around, a little caught off guard.

"You'll have to wait Mikoto…this is important." Mikoto groaned even more, but fell back asleep almost instantly. Nao pushed herself off the wall and walked towards the window.

"Looks like things are starting to get fired up, hm?" She said, hinting mild amusement.

"How can you say that??" Sakura looked at Nao, as if she was insane.

"She's a redhead." Mai said jokingly. "Can't expect much else out of her-ow!" Nao lowered her fist , crossing her arms as Mai rubbed her head gently, glaring at Nao. Sakura had a dumbstruck look on her face. Shizuru ignored their bickering and continued watching Natsuki and the two men. Natsuki finally moved a little, shifting her gaze towards the floor, catching a sliver of her emerald eyes. The younger man was tugging wildly at his restraints. The older man seemed to be playing with his fingers. Or…what was he doing…

Suddenly, Shizuru shouted, "Mai! Materialize!" In a flash Shizuru's Meister robes flowed freely around her. Startled, Mai followed her lead and summoned her own robes, as did Nao and Sakura. But once Mai was ready, Shizuru was no longer at the door. Bewildered, she looked into the room to see her standing, with her double-ended saber held threateningly against the older man's neck. Natsuki had hardly moved at all from her position, she was still.

The older man sat, stunned. His partner was still thrashing with the chair clamped to his back. Natsuki looked up at the older man.

"It wouldn't be wise to try anything in your position." He turned his gaze up at Shizuru, who had a blank stare boring into him. He sighed and relaxed a little, and his partner finally seemed to calm down a little.

"Even something as subtle as hand signs." Shizuru added quietly, and threateningly. Even Natsuki felt the tension in her tone. The younger man looked at his partner, an incomprehensible look on his face. The older looked back at him and his lips formed a grim line. Shizuru eyed the two men carefully as they both bowed their heads and began twitching their fingers.

It happened all at once, Mai couldn't tell what in the world had actually happened. The first thing she noticed was the explosion in the room, but amazingly it didn't break the glass barrier. She turned her concern to Natsuki and Shizuru, only to see them standing beside her the next moment, Shizuru's hand on Natsuki's shoulder. A thick smoke covered the room, nobodu could see anything. She looked at Natsuki and Shizuru.

"What the hell happened??" Natsuki had a blank stare on her face. It seemed almost terrified.

"They used hand signs to self detonate." Shizuru said, looking at Natsuki. She had such a distant look on her face. She was beginning to wonder if Natsuki had really noticed the blast. Even as she grabbed her and sped out of the room she didn't seem the slightest bit phased. She moved a little and looked at Natsuki directly, keeping her hand on her shoulder.

"Natsuki…?" Mai seemed to notice her far-off expression as well. Natsuki blinked it away. She glanced up at Mai.

"What?" Mai didn't say anything. She just watched Natsuki.

"What did they say?" Shizuru asked her. Natsuki turned, almost looking shocked and confused. Shizuru noticed instantly that her eyes looked shallow and empty. Almost lifeless. Natsuki's face softened as her gaze fell to the floor. Shizuru felt a strange aura around the blue haired girl. It was uneasy, almost scared. With her other free hand she reached for Natsuki's hand and gently held it. This seemed to snap her out of her daze.

"I need to see Queen Mashiro." She looked up through the cracked glass window. The smoked had cleared enough and she could vaguely make out the remains of the two men's bodies. But it didn't look like there was any blood. What were they…?

"The Queen left for Aries with Arika for…something, ugh." Yoko said slowly, as she came to, rubbing her head. Mikoto woke up beside her as well, and she turned her head to stare stupidly at Yoko like she was the strangest thing she had ever seen. Sakura stood frozen to her spot as Nao still held her uncaring look. Natsuki turned around to look at Yoko.

"When will she be back?" Yoko looked up at her.

"Probably…well, either today or tomorrow. I can't remember right now." Natsuki sighed and ignored everything else.

"I would like an autopsy on these two bodies ASAP." She walked out of Shizuru's tender grasp and down the hall, the blank and distant look taking her face once more. Clearly worried, Shizuru hurried after her as she turned the corner to walk up the stairs. Mai turned to the others. Sakura hadn't moved an inch since the explosion, and continued to stare blankly in at the destroyed room. Mikoto stood up and walked up near her to observe the damage. Nao observed the scene stoically. Yoko got to her feet.

"I'll take care of the autopsy. If there's even enough to do one…" She said morbidly. Sakura flinched a little and tore her gaze away from the gruesome scene. Seeming to be completely oblivious to what was going on or what happened, Mikoto tugged on Mai's robes.

"Can you make something to eat now Mai?" Mai looked down at Mikoto and sighed. She looked around at Yoko.

"Do you need any help before we go?" She asked as Mikoto still clung to her arm

"I think I can get it on my own, if you need to leave." Yoko walked up to the remainder of the barrier. "For now I can just get the autopsy done and worry about the mess later. Actually, could you help me rope off this area?"

"Of course." Mai said, feeling Mikoto's grip sag. "It'll be quick, don't worry."

* * *

Natuski and Shizuru were on their way back to Garderobe in their limousine. Shizuru kept glancing at Natsuki, sitting next to her. Her expression hadn't changed since they were down in the castles basement. Her gaze was fixed on the floor, her eyes looked even emptier now it seemed. It was tearing at her that Shizuru didn't know what had happened, but thought it best to not pry information out of her now. Instead, she gently clasped her hand over Natsuki's, causing her to slowly look at her. Shizuru smiled gently in return, as she brought her arm around Natsuki's shoulder, causing her to tense slightly, and lightly pulled her head down to rest on her shoulder. Shizuru laid her cheek on the girls blue hair. Natsuki sighed and relaxed into Shizuru's gentle hold. She closed her eyes, enjoying her calming embrace.

* * *

"Yay!" Mikoto yelped as Mai set a bowl of her best ramen in front of her. 

"If you want more let me know, we don't have anything to do until the Queen gets back." Mai said as she sat down with Mikoto. Nao was sitting with them as well, though she looked as though she didn't want to be there. Mikoto was practically inhaling her food.

"So, things will either be really hectic now or smoothed out, you think?" Nao said casually.

"I guess so…but judging from Natsuki's reaction, I don't think it's going to end well." Mai sighed. It wasn't very often Natsuki was that deep in thought and oblivious to the world around her. For as long as she'd known her, it had taken something serious to bring that up. She wanted to go see Natsuki and ask what had happened. She was starting to worry a little. She rubbed her eyes trying to take her mind off of it as Nao stood up.

"I'm gonna go somewhere." She said. Mai looked up at her.

"Already?"

"I need to see someone." Nao opened the door to the kitchen to leave. "Get some information."

"I see…" Mai knew where she was going. She didn't particularly like Nao's methods of prying information, or really how she did anything. She rolled her eyes as Nao shut the door. Mikoto finished her ramen and finally looked up.

"Nrh rft?" She asked with her mouth full.

"Swallow your food before you talk."

"Where's she going?" She asked.

"Going to see her little bar buddies." Mai said, resting her chin on her hand. Mikoto looked at her curiously.

"Bar buddies? Those people she always goes to see?"

"Yeah, and don't even think about making friends with them." Mikoto looked more confused. Mai was sure she could handle any of the bums there, but she didn't want Mikoto seeing some of the asses that hung around there. She smiled a little, she almost felt like a mother.

"Mai! Can I get more ramen??" Mikoto sat up straight looking hopeful. Mai sat up a little bit.

"Do you remember how to ask politely?" Mikoto paused for a moment.

"Um…can Mai please get me ramen?" Mikoto smiled wide. Mai smiled back and grabbed her bowl as she stood up.

"You ask 'may I please have more ramen'." She walked over to the counter.

"Yeah that!" Mai made some more ramen and sat back down at the table, as Mikoto reached for it. But she stopped and brought her hands together. "Thank you, Mai!" Mai looked at her, a little surprised.

"You're very welcome, Mikoto." She smiled again as she reached for the food. Mai was trying to teach her manners again, reminiscing on past incidents. More than once fights had almost broken out because of her impolite attitude. But Mai knew it wasn't because Mikoto was rude. She had rarely ever been around people, other than cats. She simply didn't know how to act, though she was catching on pretty fast. Besides her lacking in social skills, Mikoto was good at heart. The best ADD friend Mai ever had.

* * *

Shizuru opened the door to Natsuki's office, and she led her in. Natsuki still seemed deep in thought and far off. She sat her on the couch and sat down next to her. Natsuki relaxed into the back of the couch, staring at the ceiling. It almost seemed strange that she was aware of her surroundings, as distant as she had been. Shizuru began playing with the girl's hair that was draped over her shoulders. It was soft as it slid through her fingers. Natsuki closed her eyes. 

"Shizuru…" Her tone was surprisingly soft and gentle. Surprised, Shizuru stopped.

"Yes?" Natsuki opened her eyes and lifted her head to look at the other girl.

"Was there anything I needed to do today…?" Shizuru thought for a moment. "I can't remember at all."

"Other than organize the field trip, I don't believe so." Natsuki sighed, relieved. Shizuru took the opportunity to wrap her arms around her and pull her closer. Natsuki laid her head on Shizuru's shoulder and closed her eyes again, relaxing. Shizuru gently ran her fingers through her hair as she too closed her eyes.

"When Mashiro gets back, I'll tell you everything…" Natsuki said quietly. "Until then, please just stay here." Shizuru just smiled and held the blue haired girl closer.

"Of course."

* * *

OK!! Woot! I enjoyed writing that one . I'll try to have the next chapter up next week! 


	3. Chapter 3

Note: I'm so sorry for not having this up sooner!!! And I beg you to forgive me if this chapter isn't very good.

* * *

In the bowels of the Garderobe library, Yoko was in a somewhat large isolated room. Stone floors and walls echoed the noises inside dully, and fluorescent bulbs supplied dim light on the ceiling. There were two tables opposite of the door, with a few feet distance between them. On top of them, the ragged remains of the two suspects interrogated for conspiracy. Their bodies looked like shells with holes from the explosion now, completely unnatural. There wasn't enough good tissue left to perform an accurate autopsy, and Yoko was starting to doubt it if would have been possible even if the men just keeled over and died. The tissue looked like it had undergone some process of decay. The organs inside of them were still somewhat intact, but unable to function any longer, long dead. She had already taken the best DNA samples she could from the remains of the two men. The data processed from them should be done soon. She was hoping to find out who they were, and their age, running background scans on that information. 

As she was getting samples earlier, she discovered two small chips attached to their skulls. They seemed to be rooted into their skulls, probably into their brains. They still had a small light on them, and Yoko assumed that meant they were still functioning. She'd need someone to come and investigate the technology further later, as she was unable to do it. The computer behind her chirped a small noise and she turned around and walked towards it. It indeed managed to collect some information from the samples. Just enough to perform a background check.

"So…Senzo Tanaka, age 47…and Rokuro Tanaka, age 22. So Senzo was Rokuro's father." She began typing skillfully to check the information. "Ok then, Senzo was born in Aries, married Kayo Tochigi in Artai, and his son born in Artai. Blood type AB, and O . Date of birth, and date…what?" She was confused. Could this be right…? Is it possible? She blinked, staring more intently at the information on the screen. It said the same thing. Something wasn't right. A panicking curiosity began to rise within her, and she took a deep breath to calm herself down. Returning to the keyboard, she typed quickly to confirm the contents on the screen.

* * *

Shizuru sat at her desk looking over the papers for the field trip exam. She took it upon herself to do them for Natsuki, allowing her to deal with other matters if they came up. Still achingly concerned about the blue haired girl, she managed to keep her questions buried under respect. She looked up at her, standing by the window looking out around the land. She looked a little more at peace now, which relieved Shizuru a little in return. She noticed Natsuki was playing with the buttons at her cuffs again, as her eyes began to travel up and down her uniform. Her countenance captured Shizuru's gaze and held it with a death grip. She barely took notice as Natsuki turned to cast a weak glance at her. She caught her glowing emerald eyes, as they still held the desperate look in them. Shizuru broke her stare. 

"Is Natsuki feeling any better?" She asked quietly. Natsuki either didn't hear her or chose not to, as she turned back to stare out the window again. Shizuru sighed, keeping her eyes on the reticent girl. A few moments later, Natsuki reached up to her left ear and paused a moment. A look of emotion shot across her face as she turned to Shizuru.

"We need to get to the Library." She said urgently. Shizuru stood up and followed Natsuki to the door. Life seemed to spark back into her eyes now. If only it wasn't full of surprise and urgency she would be glad of it.

* * *

"Ahhh I love the country side!" Arika said as she peered out the window of the limousine. They had just exited the border of Aries and now on their way back to Windbloom. Mashiro sat next to her quietly, gazing out the opposite window as she absently ran her fingers along the collar of her undershirt. She was wearing her blue dress, with the dark blue trim around the collar and white cuffs. She was tired, she never enjoyed long rides very much. Whereas Arika on the other hand seemed to enjoy it. Irritation pricked at her as she tried to ignore it. "Don't you think it's beautiful?" 

"How is empty land beautiful?" Mashiro cast a slightly annoyed glance at Arika.

"Maa, how isn't it?" She craned her neck around to look at her master. "But I guess since I grew up around the country I like it anyways." Arika settled back down in her seat, tugging at her Meister dress. Mashiro resumed gazing out the window on her side. Her mind began to wonder to the past, back when she first met Arika. She found her to be one of the spazziest and dimwitted people she had ever met, and incredibly annoying. She never dreamed that one day she would be her Otome next to her, as queen. Wondering further still along the events that led up to now, remembering the first time she met Prince Takumi, learning there's more to being royalty and ruler than luxury. Remembering Nagi's horrible ploy to take over her country, hiding among the homeless people that were kicked out of their own homeland. She had learned so much and changed so much in that short time, it was overwhelming. At the time she felt like it was almost torture, but now she was glad she experienced all that. Helping to change her into who she is now, more developed into a proper queen to help serve the people and make their lives better. She was making more routine visits around the city, even in the part where the less fortunate dwelled, just to hear directly from the people. Many of the citizens expressed their gratitude and thanks to her every time she came down now. She decided she would do everything she could to help her people. Mimi's death solidified her determination to protect, as to this day she still deeply regretted her past actions. She sighed as she glanced out of the corner of her eye at Arika. If it wasn't for the hyper active girl, she wouldn't have been able to get through it. She smiled weakly.

_Thank you, Arika._

* * *

Nina looked around at the trees around her as she walked deeper into the woods. The sun was peaking behind grey clouds flowing fast overhead. Though it was gloomy, she enjoyed the scene and admired it. She enjoyed the smell of the trees and the vague scent of rain in the distance. She loved the isolated beauty in the mountains of Windbloom. She came to a fallen tree and watched two rabbits zoom by a short distance away. They darted this way and that playing with each other, and soon zoomed off out of eye sight. Nina smiled as she looked back up at the clouds. They seemed to be covering more and more of the sky now, and threatening rain soon. Deciding she should make her way back to the house, she turned and began walking slowly. 

She was alone in the home for now. Sergay had been called to Artai on an offer to rejoin the military there. Since they were starting to need a source of income, he left to look into it. He left almost a week ago now though. Does it take that long to get reinstated?

The wind began to blow a little, her long hair flowing as it danced with the wind. She brushed some purple strands out of her face as the trees came to a small clearing, the small wooden cabin in the middle. She climbed up the few steps as a few droplets started to fall from the sky. She sat in the chair by the window and watch as more and more droplets began to fall. Absently, she reached up to her left ear and fingered the emerald gem. The battle with Yuna replaying in her head, she slipped deep into thought, thinking about Arika and Mashiro. She closed her eyes and sighed, relaxing into the chair. Maybe once Sergay returned, she would go down to visit them. It had been a while since she saw them last. It'd be nice to talk with them again.

* * *

"What is it, Yoko?" Natuski entered the dim room with Shizuru behind her. Yoko turned away from the computer screen. 

"Something's not right, at all." She stood up and stepped aside to allow the two to see the information on the screen. "Look at this." Natsuki walked over and sat in the chair as her eyes adjusted to the monitor. Senzo Tanaka, age 47 and Rokuro Tanaka, age 22. Born in Aries…Date of birth and Date of…death?

"Date of death?" Shizuru scanned over the information on the screen. Natsuki leaned back in the chair. She looked over at the two corpses on the tables, her mind began racing incomprehensibly.

"And not long ago Mai called relaying some interesting information Nao gathered from Yamada." Yoko said, diverting Shizuru's attention. Natsuki slowly tore herself out of her rapid thoughts and turned to Yoko. "Apparently, Yamada heard lots of rumors from graves being dug up and the bodies being removed, and no trace of them. And these two bodies have already decayed some, there's almost no live tissue left." She walked over to one of the bodies and motioned for the two to follow her. Natsuki stood up and Shizuru walked over to Yoko, as she motioned to the bodies head. Natsuki felt her insides twist as she saw the small chip in their skulls.

"Please don't be true…" She muttered inaudibly.

"Whatever these are, they seem to be functioning remotely…I had Irina analyze them, but they aren't very complex. She said that the regular functions seemed to have stopped and it's sending last bits of information to a third party." Shizuru glanced over at Natsuki, her face now shadowed with a strange awe. Yoko seemed to notice as well.

"Natsuki…" She didn't respond, but continued staring at the body on the table. Yoko looked back to Shizuru, guessing Natsuki was still affected from the events of the early morning. "What did they say?" Natsuki hesitantly met Shizuru's eyes, And Shizuru saw the urgency in them. Something was definitely wrong.

"Will Queen Mashiro be back soon…?" She asked monotone.

"Within the hour actually, I managed to contact them after I did you." Just as Yoko said that, the door was flung open by Aoi, and Arika stumbled in, and landed sprawled on the floor. Mashiro followed behind her with an exasperated look on her face, massaging her temple.

"Um…we're here!" Arika announced cheerfully as she wiggled around and stood up straight. Mashiro lowered her hand and walked past Arika.

"What did you need…What in the world are those??" Her eyes traveled over the patchy corpses on the tables. Yoko folded her arms and prepared to explain all the happenings within the last twenty four hours.

* * *

"So…wow." Mashiro rubbed her head. This was overwhelming, what in the world was going on? 

"So…whoever is doing this used something to re-animate the dead bodies." Aoi repeated, trying to understand.

"Yes. They died half a year ago, though." Shizuru said, contemplating the details. "This may be an odd question, but are the chips completely mechanical?" Yoko looked at her.

"Well, there was a strange energy within the chips, Irina couldn't identify it." Yoko walked over to the computer and opened a window with the information from Irina's examination. Natsuki was desperately trying to ease her mind standing by the wall. This was getting to be a dangerous situation. Mashiro glanced over at Natsuki, noticing her tension.

"Natsuki?" Natsuki looked up from her thoughts and met the Queen's eyes. She took a deep breath, deciding it was best to share the information now.

"When I was interrogating them…they talked about someone." The room fell silent and turned its attention to Natsuki. She folded her arms and closed her eyes. "They said someone is planning something big...with similar intentions, but one main focus. Be it a being or inanimate. Many lives hang in the balance, but one is the prize among all. The threat is inevitable, there will be no stopping it. Though you may think you know, there is much more you cannot fathom." There was an eerie silence in the room, lingering about and taunting the six in the room. Natsuki opened her eyes and looked up, confused faces looking at her in return. "Someone is after a certain someone in Windbloom, and it's priceless to them to stop at nothing that interferes it sounds like. And I assume, what they mean by "you think you know", we may automatically assume it's Nagi who's planning all this, but a third party we've yet to discover perhaps…"

"That…doesn't make a whole lot of sense." Arika mumbled scratching her head. Yoko leaned against the computer table, reveling in her own thoughts. Shizuru remained silent, her face masking her inner feelings.

"But that doesn't explain the dead bodies…" Mashiro held a hand to her chin. "And Shizuru...?" Shizuru turned to the small Queen.

"Yes?"

"What did you mean by asking if the chips were completely mechanical?"

"Well, just thinking about necromancy…" She turned her gaze back to the rotted corpses. "Perhaps this is some demonic ritual, the date of death would throw off anyone who tries to track the DNA and dig further for information." Mashiro paused for a moment.

"With everything that's happened before, I guess that wouldn't be a totally insane possibility…"

"Although, may I request permission to visit the Artai prison?" Shizuru asked. Mashiro looked at her questioningly. "Perhaps digging around there will give us more answers, since it was mentioned and apparently the aim of theirs after all."

"Yes…so, you and Natsuki will go investigate further in the prison. Yoko, could you keep analyzing all the data you can find? So we know better what this is." Mashiro paced a little beside the door.

"I certainly can." Yoko said. Shizuru looked over at Natsuki, who seemed to be in a daze now, reverting back to her lifeless form. The more she thought about it, the less it made sense. What the two men told Natsuki should not have enough to throw her into a state of shock, she was stronger than that. This wasn't just a state of shock it seemed now.

"We should probably leave as soon as possible…" Natsuki said quietly. "Shizuru, let's go." She walked towards the door slowly, Shizuru following up behind her. As soon as they both were outside the door and walking along the hall, Shizuru placed a hand on Natsuki's shoulder.

"Natsuki…" The blue haired girl turned her head slightly in her direction, not making eye contact.

"Yes?"

"Is everything alright?" Natsuki stopped. Shizuru looked at her, searching her expression for any signs. Natsuki sighed and turned to Shizuru, keeping her head lowered, arms crossed. Shizuru still had a gentle hand on her shoulder as she stepped a little closer to the headmaster. She meekly lifted her gaze to meet Shizuru's concerned eyes. There was nothing Shizuru could see reflecting in those emerald eyes.

"Why do you ask?" Taken aback by her question, Shizuru paused for a moment. Maybe Natsuki was just worried and thinking everything out thoroughly, not shock.

"You still seem very troubled." Shizuru said, still looking deep into Natsuki's eyes. The girl simply blinked as emotion shot across her face, a curious expression.

"Still…? I've been looking troubled?" Her tone changed from the quiet monotone back to her normal voice. Shizuru stared at her. Was she this deep in thought? She had never seen her quite like this before.

"Yes…since you talked to those two you've seemed very distant and deep in thought." She lowered her hand and gently grasped Natsuik's hands. "What have you been thinking about…?" Natsuki looked dumbfounded. She seemed utterly oblivious to what Shizuru was talking about.

"Ah…I, well I haven't really been thinking about a whole lot." Natsuki lowered her gaze. "I really didn't think I seemed so…upset." Unsure of what else to say, Shizuru fell silent. She watched Natsuki, looking for any signs defying her words. Something had to be bothering her…what was causing her strange actions? Deciding to let it be for now, Shizuru tightened her grip on the girl's hands a little before letting go.

"If you are truly fine, then let's go." She smiled reassuringly at Natsuki, who shyly smiled back.

"We're just asking about any recent suspicious activities with the prisoners or visitors, correct?" Natsuki confirmed. Shizuru nodded as they continued walking down the hall. She eyed Natsuki sideways, and felt her heart sink as the expression slowly faded from her eyes.

* * *

Mai snapped up from the table as there was a loud bang. She had fallen asleep on the table. Rubbing her head, she looked around for the source of the noise. She saw Mikoto squatting by the window with her back to her, mumbling. 

"Mikoto…?" The cat god didn't respond. Mai stood up and walked over to her, and noticed a fat black cat meowing frantically to Mikoto. "What's going on?"

Mikoto looked up at Mai with an urgent look. "She said there's something weird by the border."

"Weird?" Mikoto stood up, still facing Mai.

"Can we go check right now?" Mai looked at the time. It was seven forty three.

"I guess so, not much else to do." She walked out on the balcony as the black cat jumped up on the railing and jumped away. "Materialize!" As her robes appeared, Mikoto climbed up on her back and she went airborne.

"It was by the southwest border." Mikoto said as Mai turned slightly and increased her speed. The sun was behind the horizon now, but still plenty of light illuminated the land. She scanned the area ahead of her looking for any signs of movement.

"Did she say what was weird exactly?"

"Some person with a cart of something. It had a funny smell."

"What?? That's all we're coming out here for?" Mai's tone was slightly irritated. It was probably a farmer with a cart load of crap for his crops.

"There!" Mikoto pointed by Mai's head, at a small figure just outside the city border now. Indeed it was a rather large looking hunched back man carrying a large cart with a cover over it. Mai had to admit it looked out of the ordinary, but at this point hardly anything worrisome. "Fly lower."

"What?"

"So he doesn't see us." Mai descended slowly and decreasing her speed as she closed the distance between her and the border. She landed on the stone wall and focused on the man. He had a ragged cloak on, she couldn't see his face. He looked even bigger now, almost unnatural. Her interest peaking now, she lifted gently off the wall and silently floated down to the ground, a few yards from the man.

"Excuse me sir." She called out. The figure stopped, and turned a shadowed face to her. "If I may ask, what is in your cart?" The man didn't move, just stared back at her. Mikoto climbed off her back, gripping her staff. Feeling uneasy, she called again. "It just seems a little-"

"Shut your mouth maggot." Mai froze. His voice was hardly any humans voice. It sounded more like a monstrous growl. Feeling Mikoto preparing to attack, she held her arm out in front of her.

"He's not human Mai…" Mikoto whispered. Mai glanced at her as she slowly lowered her arm. "I'll take him, and you look in the cart."

"Alright...go." Mikoto sped away from her, and at the same time, the figure threw off the cloak, exposing a grotesque mix of a man and a bull like beast. Large tusks and huge claws, and hair like a lions mane. He lashed out at Mikoto who nimbly dodged the attack, leaping off to the side as she brought her staff around and powerfully bashed the beast in the side of the head, sending him flying away from the cart. Mai quickly hovered over to the cart and examined it. The cover over it was tied down on eight ends. She gripped the corner of it as a musty stench erupted from under the cover. Hesitantly, she tore off the cover and recoiled as the sight of dead bodies piled on one another met her eyes. She froze. Some of them looked like skeletons, and some that looked like they just died recently. She backed away slowly from the cart, nauseated.

"Mai!!" She tore her gaze from the gruesome cart, but her sight failed her as blackness enveloped her vision and a searing pain exploded in her head and shoulder. She failed to comprehend anything and slipped into unconsciousness.

* * *

I'm so sorry that took so long to write. So much has been happening and I just lost the drive. The next chapter may take a while too to come out, but I'll try my best to keep on time.

And any errors you saw should be fixed now, heh.

CHEER FOR ME!!


	4. Chapter 4

Note: This wasn't nearly as hard to write…YAY!! Now modified and gramaticaly weller! sniggers I'm funny...

* * *

Mashiro collapsed on her bed, staring at the ceiling. It was dark outside now, the day nearing its end. She put her hands over her face in frustration. She had been visiting Aries frequently concerning various political issues, and dealing with too much paperwork. Just as it was starting to calm down two dead guys had to come and spark up more chaos for her to deal with. While she didn't regret her decision to put everything she could into becoming a better queen, it seemed her problems and work never ended anymore. She sighed and let her hands fall to either side. Hopefully this wasn't going to be anything she'd lose sleep over. She had gotten better at controlling her anger and become more patient as the months went by, no longer the impatient demanding brat she had been. Aoi even commented on how much better she had become, her level of maturity now. With her development came responsibility she was still learning to deal with.

She sighed and rolled onto her side, looking out the large window from which moonlight illuminated the room. The moon was almost full, the Hime star flickering idly by its side. It seemed to spread a calm feeling within her as a weak smile spread across her face. She felt suddenly relaxed as everything seemed not to matter. She faintly heard Aoi talking with some unidentifiable voice as she slipped into a welcome slumber.

* * *

Chie flew high in the sky, close to Aya. Along with her power of fire, she could channel her energy into thermal vision. Chie was almost blind in the darkness, barely making out the shapes of the buildings below her. Aya frantically scanned the land for any signs or two or three figures on the ground below. An older woman had called in to the station panicked, saying there was two bodies just outside the border. There had been some loud noises but she wasn't fast enough to see what had caused it all. Aya stared towards the southern border as her face lit up and she turned back to Chie.

"I think I found them!" She said excitedly. "Over that way!"

"Alright, let's go then." Chie zoomed after Aya as she quickly descended to the border walls. As they neared the ground, Chie could barely make out two figures on the ground, one looked like a child. She swallowed hard at the thought it may have been a student. Aya lit a bright flame in her hand as they landed. Hurrying over, Chie soon saw bright orange hair from the larger figure, and as she got closer…

"Mai!" She quickly ran to the Meister's side, seeing she was still unconscious on her side. She rolled her over onto her back and checked the pulse in her neck. It was slow, but stable. Assuming the other figure was Mikoto, she hurried over to the small god to check on her, as she heard Mai stirring awake. She stopped and looked back as Mai sat up on the grass.

"Where's…the monster?" She looked around slowly as she began rubbing her neck and shoulder.

"Whatever attacked you isn't here anymore it seems." Mai starred at Chie for a moment, trying to make out her face. She turned her attention back to Mikoto and knelt down to check her pulse as well. Though the second she got near her, she was flung away with a swift blow to her stomach and was sent flying. She landed on her back, feeling some air escape her. As she sat back up, Mai shot up shaking a little.

"Mikoto! Don't!" She staggered towards her small friend but soon collapsed, gripping her head as Mikoto looked around at the sound of her name, confused in the darkness. Aya hurried over to Mai with Chie, seeing Mikoto seemed to be fine. Mai sat down on the ground, continuing to hold her head.

"What's wrong Mai?" Chie crouched down beside her with a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm so…dizzy." She whimpered. "And it hurts." Mikoto ran over to the three.

"You don't remember?" She asked as she got on all fours looking at Mai. Mai lifted her face.

"Remember…oh, did it attack me?" Mikoto nodded vigorously as she sat down cross-legged. Chie reached up to her earring.

"Yoko? Are you there?" She watched Mai as she waited for a response. She seemed very disoriented, and judging from the spot she was massaging she was hit close to the head. She heard a beep from her earring.

"Yes, I'm here now. What's up?"

"We've found Mai and Mikoto outside the border. It seems Mai's been injured, but we aren't sure about Mikoto. We're going to bring them over there."

"Ah, I see. I'll be waiting then." Chie lowered her hand as she stood up and placed it on her hip.

"Now, Mai. Do you think you can fly?" Mai looked up at her with a tired look. Even if she said yes it didn't look safe to try.

"I might, a little maybe." Mai stood with help from Aya, holding her hand with the flame away. As she was on her feet Aya let go. "Materialize-whoa." As her robes appeared, she staggered a little, putting a hand to her head.

"Are you ok?" Aya asked, reaching out for her again. Mai shook her head slightly.

"Yeah, just got a little dizzy." She straightened herself up and tested her body's movements. Mikoto stood up from the ground resting her staff on her shoulder. "I feel a lot better now. It still hurts but I think I can fly on my own."

"Alright then, just stay close to us." She turned to look at Mikoto who looked ready to jump on Mai. "Although…should Mikoto fly with Aya instead?" Mai paused for a moment, looking back at the small girl.

"Yeah…that's probably better to do. If something goes wrong I don't want her to get hurt." Mai said, seeing Mikoto pouting. "Don't pout. If it's not too late I'll make you some ramen when we get back ok?" Mikoto's face lit up as she smiled and nodded. She jumped onto Aya's back, causing her to stumble forward a bit.

"Whoa, you're actually a bit lighter than I thought." Mikoto gave Aya a blissful smile.

"By the way Mai, what happened exactly?" The girl paused for a moment.

"Well…Mikoto wanted to come check it out here since one of her cat friend said something weird was going on, and we found a monster carrying…a cart." Her expression faltered to a blank stare.

"A cart of what?" Aya asked. Mai didn't move, but continued to stare.

"Dead bodies…" Chie felt an eerie chill run down her spine.

"And…a monster was carrying it?" Chie queried. Mai slowly nodded as she absently massaged her neck. Chie looked around her anxiously, suddenly feeling like something was close by. She held her gaze at a large rock formation barely visible in the darkness, she thought she saw something behind it. Slowly, she turned back to the group.

"Should we get going now?" Aya asked timidly.

"You three go." Chie said, unsheathing her cane. "I'm gonna hang back and check out the area some more. Aya, could you lend me some help?" Knowing what she meant, Aya walked over to her and a dim orange glow formed around her hand. As she lifted it to Chie's head, it glowed brighter, and Chie's eyes had a faint reflecting glow. A moment later it faded, but the glow against Chie's eyes remained.

"There ya go." Aya stepped back a bit. Chie could feel weak warmth from her eyes now.

"Thanks, I'll catch up with you guys soon."

"Be careful Chie!" Mikoto hollered as Aya and Mai flew into the night sky. Everything appeared to Chie in a dim shade of orange as she scanned the ground. There were some spots of grass that had been dug up, and she assumed it was from the fight. The spots where Mai and Mikoto had been still had small traces there of their body heat. She looked back at the rock formation, and noticed small spots on the left side of it. Cautiously, she approached the rock, expecting anything to pop out and bracing herself for an attack. She took slow steps towards the rock, poised to parry as she drew her cane out. To her surprise, it was neither a monster nor a sinister stranger. An elderly looking man stepped from behind the rock, with his hands held up. Chie stopped, examining him closely. Something about him looked very strange. Something…unnatural. She could barely see his eyes under thick eyebrows.

"Who are you?" She called out. He stood still, not responding to Chie. She held her cane aimed at him. "Answer me." The man remained silent, but slowly lowered his arms and brought his hands together, as he quickly began flicking his fingers into vague hand signs. Confused, Chie stood and watched, and after a few moments he subtly aimed his fingers at her and froze. They both stood still for a few moments. Expecting something to happen, Chie stood fast in her position, still poised to counter any attack the man was about to make. But nothing came. Subconsciously, she lowered her cane to her side as a strange feeling washed over her. The warmth around her eyes was slowly leaving as her vision in the dark went with it. She barely saw the man fall onto the dirt like a limp ragdoll and deteriorate into the ground. She didn't care. She turned around and gently lifted off the ground, guiding herself buy the light of the houses below back to the Mausoleum. She felt very distant and automatic suddenly, and uncaring about much anything else around her.

* * *

Nao sat on the opposite side of Natsuki and Shizuru. Her arms were folded and her legs crossed as she stared out the window of the vehicle, watching the scenery pass by. Natsuki had asked her to come along for added womanpower and whatever reason. Shizuru had talked to her about Natsuki's strange actions lately, and she could see the differences in her actions and movements. Languid and ambiguous. She glanced over at the young headmaster, seeing she was staring at the floor of the car, sitting relaxed with her hands between her legs and her head bowed down. She seemed more tired than occupied in her thoughts, Nao thought. Next to her Shizuru set with her hands folded in her lap with perfect posture. It was almost like a before and after picture with the two sitting next to each other. As the silence was starting to get to her, she cleared her throat a little.

"So the first thing we do is go check on Nagi, right?" She said, voicing her thoughts.

"Yes, since he's the most likely suspect." Shizuru replied. "But if he's not we will question other prisoners there."

"I don't have any idea who else it might be though." Natsuki lifted her head slightly to look up, not directly at either of them. "Other than a random rebellious group, but I guess that doesn't really count."

"Perhaps we should worry more about it until we've questioned the workers there." Shizuru suggested. "Rather than working up stress now." Nao glanced back out the window as she uncrossed her legs and leaned on them. A sudden thought crossed her mind as her senses kicked in and reality slapped her.

"I just thought about something…" She said, almost feeling stupid. "Maybe it's just because I'm a night crawler and I'm used to it, but it _is_ pretty late. Why are we going to one of the most dangerous prisons in the land at practically midnight?" Natsuki looked up at her like it just occurred to her as well.

"We have a place in Artai to stay, but we have to do this as soon as we can." Shizuru spoke up. Nao leaned back into the seat looking at Shizuru for a moment. If it did turn out to be serious, this was the best action to take she guessed. She yawned as she stretched herself out on the seat.

"Well, wake me up when we get there." She said drifting off.

"Will do." Shizuru smiled gently as she looked over at Natsuki. The blue haired girl seemed very tired and fatigued. "You should probably get some rest as well, Natsuki." She looked up at Shizuru and formed a weak smile.

"I guess…I am pretty tired anyway." She let her head fall back onto the seat as her eyes fluttered shut. "It's not that far away though is it?"

"There's still plenty of time to get some rest." Shizuru countered as she moved a little closer to the half conscious headmaster. She reached over and gently brushed her cheek with her fingers, provoking a weak smile from Natsuki's lips as she fell fast asleep.

* * *

"Aha! Here it is!" He reached down and picked up a very old looking trinket. He blew the dust off and wiped the dirt off of it to reveal something resembling a long arrow, with curves and three curved horns at the end of it. "Is this what you meant?"

_Yes…_

"Good, good." He glanced around the musty ruins as he slipped the artifact into his pocket. "Is there anymore here that I can get in time?"

_How much time is left…?_

"About ten, maybe fifteen minutes." He replied as he knelt down brushing through the debris to make sure there was nothing buried.

_The room down the hall…_

"Alrighty then." He jumped up and climbed over a large fallen pillar. He ran through the large room, his footsteps echoed loudly off the walls as he maneuvered around large rocks and debris. "You seem to be rather polite today." He entered the hallway where the ceiling dropped down to where it was only a few feet above his head.

_I just want to get out of this place and get what I've been promised you maggot. _

"That's more like you." He taunted as he turned into the small room. Looking around it, there was a bookcase against the wall across from him, only a few books on it, and a table on the right wall with a chest on it. "The chest?"

_Yes…_

He walked over to the table, stepping over a large brick. He examined the chest closer, having spikes along the edges of it and the lid was curved inward. It appeared to be made of black wood, but unlike everything else here it looked like it was brand new and not a speck of dust on it.

_Before you grab it…_

Black energy surrounded his hands suddenly, pouring off like a thick gas. He reached out to the chest to open it. It required a key, but with the energy around his hands he forced it open with a grunt and the cloth inside seemed to glow a bright red. Inside sat a deep purple gem, with sharp edges and perfect cuts. It looked like it fit into something.

_Yes…take it…_

He reached in slowly to carefully wrap his fingers around the gem. The edges did not cut him as he gingerly pulled it out of its home. The gem had a faint glowing inside, a sinister red glow. "What is this exactly?"

_You'll see in time…after I get out. Take out the other device…_

He reached into his pocket and took out the sharp arrow. He held both in either hand as black energy enveloped them both and soon disappeared. A smile curled its way onto his lips. "Is there anything more we have to get before we're ready?"

_Find the incantation…and simply time…_

"I'll have to find the incantation another day, I'm out of time now." He said as he hopped over the brick in the doorway and hurried down the hall back into the large room. He quickly glanced around for anything he might have missed as he sped along to the exit of the ruins. As he neared the exit, light was illuminating more of the ruins. He stepped out into the cool air of night, looking around for the guard. He was leaning against the wall unconscious. He walked over to him as black energy covered his hand once again and he waved his hand in front of the guards face, bringing him back to consciousness.

"Huh, wha?" He stuttered as he straightened himself. He put his hands behind his back and smiled at the guard.

"I'm done for the day, ready to go back?" He said innocently. The guard stood for a moment, then reached into his bag and pulled out handcuffs.

"Right, even though you've been on excellent behavior, I still have to put these on." He said, as he cuffed his hands.

"I understand completely." He walked behind the guard back to the armored vehicle. As the guard opened the door to the back, he climbed inside and sat on the floor, leaning against the wall. He smiled smugly to himself in the dark as the guard shut the doors.

_Soon…_

"Indeed."

* * *

"Chie! You're back sooner than I thought." Aya said as Chie walked inside the Library.

"Huh…?" She looked up dumbly at Aya, causing her to step back a little. "Oh…yeah, there wasn't anything weird." Chie walked passed Aya and down the hall as she followed her. Aya watched Chie as her posture seemed very slack and lazy. While Chie was never very professional and uptight, she never acted like this. Though it was very late in the night, so perhaps she was just tired. Chie turned into the medical wing and went straight down the hall, Aya close behind her. At the end of the hall, the door was open to the room they were going to, the other three inside. Yoko peaked out the door and saw them coming.

"Hey, back so soon?" She called down. Chie didn't respond but kept walking as she entered the room. Mai was sitting on a table and Mikoto was curled up next to her fast asleep. Mai looked up as Aya followed Chie in.

"Oh hey, did you find anything?"

"No." Chie replied curtly as she slumped into a chair by the door. Aya stood in the doorway, feeling unsure of what to do. Chie just didn't seem like herself. Yoko eyed her for a moment as she walked over to her.

"Are you sure nothing happened…?" She watched her movements carefully as Chie looked up at her.

"Yeah…I'm sure." She said as she leaned back into the chair. Yoko stood for a moment, continuing to watch Chie. Aya walked over to Mai and Mikoto and stood by them as Yoko knelt down in front of Chie. Wordlessly, she reached up to her chin and leveled her eyes with her own, examining them. Chie didn't pull away, simply sitting there as Yoko turned her chin slightly. She paused for a moment before she stood up.

"Chie, would you mind if I asked you to come with me for a moment?" Chie shook her head as she stood up. "If you three could wait here for just a bit, I'll be back soon." With that, she walked out of the room as Chie followed her. Mai and Aya watched as they left, and silence filled the room.

_Maybe something_ is _wrong with Chie_… Aya thought to herself as she looked at the floor. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Mai make a movement towards Mikoto as she was thinking of something to say.

"How is your injury?" She asked her as she looked up. Mai looked as if she hadn't expected the question.

"Oh, it's fine. Just some bruises." Automatically Aya look at her neck to see a large bruise, and it certainly looked worse than a bruise. She saw Mikoto reach up and tug on Mai's sleeve as she sat up from her curled position on the table, rubbing her eye with her other hand.

"Maaii." She groaned. "Can't you make some ramen now?"

"We need to wait for Chie and Yoko to get back." Mai smiled as she messed with Mikoto's hair. Mikoto hung her head and let out another groan as Aya reached into her pocket and pulled out some crackers.

"I have these if you want." Mikoto looked up quickly and her face lit up as she lunged out at Aya's offer. She snapped her hand back feeling like Mikoto was about to rip it off and she fiercely opened the package and devoured the crackers.

"Don't be so greedy Mikoto, what do you say?" Mai laughed as the small god stopped and looked back at Aya.

"Fghnk Ygh!"

"Swallow first." Mai rolled her eyes as Mikoto swallowed and smiled back Aya.

"Thank you!"

"You're…welcome." Aya relaxed a little, still a little shocked from the small girl's reaction. What a strange couple they make…

* * *

"This won't take long, just step in there for a minute." Yoko said, motioning to a large glass cylinder in the corner of the dim room. Chie nodded and stepped inside as the glass door slid aside. "I just wanna do a quick scan on you, something seems strange."

"Ok…" Chie didn't question Yoko as the door shut with a mechanical click. Yoko walked over to the terminal next to the cylinder and with swift keystrokes activated the machine. The monitor next to the keyboard lit up with several images as a white gas filled the cylinder. It was meant to relax the person inside. The monitor showed muscular and chemical make up in Chie's body and the activity below them. Just as she was about to start a scan, she noticed something in the chemical image. If it detected something strange, it would show up red. There was red all around Chie's brain. Feeling her heart skip a beat, Yoko quickly focused the scan around her head and started another monitor showing her brain waves. As she the diagnostic scan started, she looked closer at the chemical and brain wave monitor. Whatever was surrounding her brain didn't seem to be very aggressive, and unmoving. The terminal made a small beep catching her attention, the diagnostic finished very fast. She examined the information it displayed, seeing it was very sparse.

"Strange…" She muttered to herself, whatever was interfering was labeled nonlethal but potentially harmful. Whatever it was, it seemed to be focused only on causing imbalances in the serotonin system. Emphasizing on depression and doubling aggression. The strange thing was that it wasn't able to pinpoint a source for the imbalance. It was just there. With no source specified there wouldn't be a way to fix the problem easily. She would have to develop a cure or a block for it. The interference didn't seem to be very complex, so perhaps it would be easy.

"Yoko…?" Yoko looked up at Chie, seeing a weary look on her face.

"It's fine, I'll have it sorted out soon." She began frantically sorting all the details out of the interference to develop a cure.

* * *

A quick note about the Serotonin, if I did my research wrong tell me please. From what I gathered that's the system of neurotransmitters that deals with your emotions and such, happiness, sadness and depression and whatnot.

The next chapter should come about as long as this one took, unless more crap comes up. And if it's too much to ask for, I'd appreciate it if you guys could review. As I'm still developing my writing skills, I know they aren't very good, I want your opinions! I'll hug you for each time you review.

HAPPY BE-LATED EASTER!!


	5. Chapter 5

Note: MAYBE!! I can gather enough motivation to finish!! I lost all the drive and interest in Mai Otome and such, but I've recently gotten MORE to try again! Let's see how far I can get, and I'm deeply sorry if I can't finish this.

ALSO, I read over my last chapters and realized how repetitive my writing is. I get really ADD when I'm writing and I'll write like a sentence at a time between a period of 5 or 10 minutes sometimes, so sorry XD I'll try to be better about that!

And now for the big kicker! IN THE BUTT!!

Thought I almost lost the file...o.o I couldn't find it.

* * *

Shizuru opened the door of the car and stepped out into the cool night. Nao stood next to Natsuki on the other side, facing the large prison. It almost looked like a black castle against the moon, peaking from behind the moving clouds. Together the three Otome walked up the long path to the structure in silence. Nao didn't have the cocky grin she usually has; she looked much more focused for once. As they neared the prison they could see two large guards at the doors. They stopped a short distance away as Natsuki stepped forward.

"We're here to investigate a matter of security. We apprehended two men talking about a scheme to break someone out of this prison." She said formally. The right guard bowed slightly.

"You may proceed." The first guard said in a gruff voice as they both opened the doors to reveal a torch lit hallway. Natsuki bowed her head in thanks and the three entered together. As the doors shut the orange glow of the fires illuminated the stone interior entirely. The hallway widened as it fell to a set of spiraling stairs down under the ground. The building itself was more underground than above, built literally into the side of the precarious cliff. A few of the cells had a window to the stormy seas outside. Quite the architectural wonder.

"First let's talk to the guards and see which of the rats here have been acting up, instead of jumping to conclusions, ya think?" Nao suggested as they descended.

"That may be the easiest way to find out, but if he doesn't know, then we go to Nagi first." Natsuki said. Reaching the bottom at last, there was a short hallway in front of them to T off left and right, and halls to either side of them. Two rows of cellars, each in individual rooms. There was a guard passing in the far hallway as they walked forward. "Excuse me." The guard stopped and turned.

"Ahh, Ms. Kruger. What brings you here?" The guard had spoken with her a while back.

"We're here to interrogate a suspect about a recent plot for a jail bust here." Natsuki said. "Have any of the prisoners been acting suspicious lately?" Nao stood a short distance peering down the hallway that seemed endless.

"Well, not particularly. There haven't been any disturbances lately." The guard said thoughtfully.

"What about Nagi Dái Artai?"

"He's been exceptionally well lately. But he hasn't been doing anything, other than going out to some old ruins." Shizuru turned her attention to the guard and listened intently.

"What does he go there for?" Natsuki asked irritably.

"He's been digging up some old artifacts I believe, for environmental reasons. A guard goes with him every time and he's only allowed so long." Natsuki felt her temper rising rapidly. Shizuru stepped closer to Natsuki, facing the guard still.

"You _let_ him _out_ of the prison??" She exclaimed loudly, even her posture faltered as she eyed the guard furiously. The guard took a step back, looking alarmed and offended. Shizuru put a hand on Natsuki's shoulder to keep her calm as she stepped up again.

"We just want to ensure there's nothing bad happening; may we go speak with him?" She asked in a polite tone. The guard stood for a moment and then said,

"Alright. Shall I have an escort for you?"

"We'll be fine, thank you for your time." Shizuru bowed before turning around, holding Natsuki's arm and with Nao walked back down the shorter hallway to the second set of downward stairs. Nagi was kept with a select few criminals in a lower level, deeper underground. As they began to descend the stairs Nao spoke up against the silence.

"The guards seem surprisingly well mannered and intelligent, but what's with you Natsuki?" She cast a sideways glance at her. "You kinda snapped back there." Natsuki simply grunted in response. She still looked irritated and hasty. Nao shrugged and continued on quietly. Shizuru decided to remain silent; perhaps Natsuki just lost her calm demeanor momentarily. Anyone stupid enough to let Nagi out, no matter the reason, deserves a swift slap across the face anyway. Hoping against hope that was the real reason she snapped.

* * *

Yoko sat at a small terminal next to Chie, who was now in a catatonic state, lying on the bed. The terminal was monitoring her vital signs. She had managed to fix the abnormality in Chie's system, rebalancing the serotonin levels back to normal, but it left Chie in this state. Whatever caused the disturbance seemed to exhaust her immune system after Yoko fixed the problem. She only needed rest now. Yoko leaned back in her chair and crossed her legs; she was tired from all the computer work. She needed to sleep soon. As she sighed there was a knock at the door.

"Who is it?"

"It's me." Came Aoi's shy voice.

"Ah, come in then."

"Thank you." She entered with a small tray of tea. "I thought you'd like some…Chie?" She paused in the doorway as her eyes fell upon the sleeping Otome. "What happened?"

"Ah…it's nothing very serious. She had a run in with something going to recover Mai and Mikoto, but she's fine now. She just needs to rest." Yoko explained as Aoi hurriedly set the tray down and moved to Chie's side. Yoko put the pieces together and smiled gently. "Would you like me to leave the room for a moment?"

"If that's ok…" Aoi didn't take her eyes off of the unconscious Chie. Yoko stood up and stretched.

"Just let me know when you're done."

"Thank you, Yoko." Aoi reached to brush a few strands of hair out of Chie's face as she heard the door shut quietly. She pulled a chair up closer and sat down as she gently grasped Chie's hand. She reached with her other hand to gently play with her hair as she examined her closely. "I hope you wake up soon…" She whispered gently. Chie's eyes seemed to flicker slightly and her hand twitched a little in Aoi's. She smiled to herself as she kissed Chie lightly on the cheek.

Outside Yoko leaned against the wall thinking to herself. Remembering Natsuki's strange behavior, she began comparing it to Chie's in her head. They were both acting somewhat the same ways. Both seemed to happen from the strange people they encountered. Perhaps there was move devious works going on than just a random disease. She swallowed hard at the idea. Even if the interference wasn't lethal, it's still a dangerous thing to mess with. Caution getting the better of her, she reached up to her earpiece…

* * *

"Oh, just a moment." Shiruzu said as she heard a small chirp from her earring. Natsuki and Nao stopped at the foot of the stairway to wait for her. "Yes?"

"It's Yoko. Some things happened while you guys were gone but its fine now, I think." Yoko said quietly on the other end. Shizuru turned slightly away from the others. "Chie had an encounter with another of those dead guys I think, and it caused a strange mental state. I was able to fix it but I'm beginning to think the same thing happened to Natsuki. Please just keep an eye on her, and try to keep her from doing anything crazy." Shizuru felt her stomach twist a little. She knew something was going on beyond simple mood swings.

"Thank you, I'll keep that in mind. We'll be back soon." She cut off the link and walked down the rest of the stairs.

"Who was that?" Natsuki asked.

"Yoko made some tea for us when we return." Shizuru smiled blissfully as Natsuki huffed. She knew that was her way of saying it was nothing. They continued on down a curving hallway against the edge of the cliff. Each cell was against the damp open air of the sea, and more of the ground seemed to be wet on the lower floors. They neared the middle of the row as they came to Nagi's cell. Natsuki walked up to the door and banged on it. There was a dull thud on the other side before his voice came.

"Well who could that be?" Nagi said in his fake polite voice. Natsuki threw open the peep hole and glared at him through it.

"What have you been doing leaving the prison?" Nagi sighed and folded his arms.

"Well how rude! Don't even say hi anymore." He pouted slightly as Natsuki grit her teeth viciously. Shizuru grabbed her arm to try and prompt her to calm down but Natsuki jerked it away.

"Don't play stupid with me you little brat!" She snarled as she clenched a fist against the door. Nao took a step away from Natsuki.

Nagi smirked deviously. "I haven't been up to anything bad lately; I've been a good boy." Natsuki's eyes flared as she felt her temper going out of control. Even Shizuru could feel the aura around her change and she cast Nao a quick warning glance, and Nao nodded in return as they both materialized their robes. Natsuki was way out of line, even for Nagi.

"You little bastard!" Natsuki shouted as she summoned her own robes and materialized her rifle. Shizuru barely noticed Nagi's eyes turn as Natsuki broke through the door, shattering half the wall with it. Nao moved to try and restrain the rampant Headmaster, but Natsuki swiftly struck Nao across the face with her robes tendrils and sent her flying. She looked absolutely feral as Nagi began to laugh. Shizuru attempted to disable her rifle but only knocked it in the other direction as it fired a massive beam. Nao jumped quickly out of the way as it blew a hole through the walls, and even a couple cells. The occupants of the cells peaked around the debris, and as the smoke cleared it revealed the remains of another prisoner. A few of them jeered as they jumped out of their confined rooms.

"You get Natsuki, I'll get these guys!" Nao shouted as she darted after the escapees. Natsuki gripped her gun as she eyed Nagi with absolute bloodlust. Nagi had barely moved or changed his expression from his malevolent smile.

"Natsuki!" Shizuru tried to grab the blue haired woman, but again Natsuki swung at her in a flash and knocked her away. Before Shizuru could recover, Natsuki aimed her gun again and fired a huge blast at Nagi. The beam engulfed Nagi's cell, and presumably Nagi himself. Shizuru pried the gun out of Natsuki's hands and threw her against the wall. Her eyes were shaking and her face was twitching like she was having a seizure. Shizuru didn't know what to do as the girl in front of her began giggling slightly. Natsuki has never acted anything like this before. She slowly let go of her and let her slide down the wall. She slouched to the floor, still looking insane. Shizuru took a step back as she heard a cocky laugh from behind her. Whirling around she saw Nagi standing with a cocky smirk, with the giant hole in the wall at his back. Even after that he didn't move…

"Even one of the best Otome missed me…that _is_ embarrassing now, isn't it." He took a few steps back towards the wall. Shizuru felt Natsuki zip past her to try and get at Nagi, but before she could reach him, he jumped. Backwards out of the cell, into the air of the cold night. And vanished.

Natsuki halted in her steps, baffled. Shizuru stared around at where he once was and looked around her. He was nowhere. He completely dissapeared into thin air. There was an eerie silence for a moment, and then Natsuki suddenly twitched and grasped her head. Shizuru rushed over to her as she yelled in pain and fell to her knees, her robes disappearing. Natuski fell onto her side writhing and grunting unrecognizable noises, the brunette trying desperately to calm her down. What in the world is going on?? Natsuki finally violently cringed and fell limp, unconscious. Shizuru almost felt sick to her stomach, she had no idea what to do. Several prisoners have escaped now and Nagi disappeared, and Natsuki just had an absolute break down of some sort. Her hand shook slightly as she reached up to her earring.

"Nao…where are you?" She heard footsteps behind her and turned around. Nao stood there, looking exhausted.

"They knocked me out…" She admitted shamefully. "What happened here?"

"I'm not entirely sure…" Shizuru stared at the unconscious girl now in her arms. They needed to get back to Windbloom.

Now.

* * *

Yoko grunted as she woke up and lifted her head off the table. She had fallen asleep at the terminal monitoring Chie. She was still unconscious but the readings looked more active. She stood up stretching and yawning as she looked more closely at the information. Maybe Chie would wake up today, she thought. Aoi left soon after Yoko contacted Shizuru still in the early morning hours. She walked over to the other computer that scanned Chie just a few hours ago. She was just about to examine the data further when she heard an alert from her earring. She paused and reached up to it.

"Yes?"

"Yoko. It's us…can you come give us a hand?" Shizuru sounded exhausted.

"Oh, yes. I'm on my way right now." Yoko glanced at Chie to make sure she was ok to leave momentarily, and hurried out the door.

Outside, Nao was standing beside the vehicle, waiting for Yoko to come. She had a few bruises from the escaped prisoners, but it was nothing too serious. Shizuru was sitting inside, holding Natsuki who was now hovering in and out of consciousness, her gaze glassy and distant. Yoko appeared out of the Mausoleum within a minute and rushed over to them.

"What…happened?" She asked, unsure of what to make of the scene. She moved to help Shizuru support Natsuki into the building.

"I'm not sure what to say." Shizuru said quietly. "I'll explain once we're inside." An arm over each woman, Natsuki sagged on them with her head hung. Nao paused for a moment in thought as they walked ahead.

"The queen should hear about this too, right?" Yoko and Shizuru stopped and looked back at her.

"Yeah, could you go inform her what happened? We should both meet with her though. I'll meet you at the castle." Shizuru said. Nao nodded, materializing her robes and flew into the sky as the other three went inside the Mausoleum.

* * *

Mashiro woke up to the sound of knocking on her door. But when she didn't hear Aoi's voice she felt slightly annoyed as she slowly made her way out of bed.

"Come inn…" She droned as Kimiko, from Chie's squad, opened the door shyly. Mashiro eased a little and looked at her. "What is it?"

"Um. I was supposed to tell you that there, uh...have been a couple prisoners that escaped from the…Artai prison." She closed the door slightly as she spoke, and Mashiro stared at her. She just woke up and that's the first thing she hears. And a barely graduated Otome was bringing her the news. Kimiko looked down the hall at the sound of footsteps and stood back as Nao walked into view.

"Queen Mashiro…well good morning." Nao said a little smugly as she saw Mashiro standing in her night gown. "We, well, need you to come to the Conference room ASAP." Again, Mashiro just stared at Nao, feeling her eye twitch. Even Nao stopped and took a step or two back as Mashiro turned around and walked towards her bed. Kimiko looked from Nao to Mashiro as the young Queen…crawled back into bed.

"Uh…"

"Hey wait! We need you NOW!" Nao walked in to grab her but was swatted at.

"I'M TIRED SO KINDLY BACK AWAY AND DIE!!" The queen roared as she buried her face into her pillow. Nao recoiled as Kimiko backed against the wall in the hallway. Aoi came walking in the room, a slightly exasperated look on her face as she made her way to the Queens bedside and grabbed her neck. Mashiro simply relaxed and got out of bed and walked down the hall with Aoi. Nao stood still in her place as Kimiko looked terrified against the wall.

"…the kingdom is in good hands."

* * *

"I want to scan her to see if it's the same thing that was wrong with Chie, can you have her step in there?" Yoko motioned to the same chamber that Chie was in. Shizuru gently helped Natsuki inside and stepped back. The girl still seemed barely conscious and aware of her surroundings. It was only until the glass door clicked shut that she moved. Her eyes slowly moved down to make contact with Shizuru's crimson eyes. They almost looked pleading and lost. Shizuru felt it tear at her heart to see Natsuki so lifeless. After a few more keystrokes the chamber filled with the white gas and Natsuki closed her eyes. The pictures of her body structure came up on the two screens and Yoko gasped. Indeed it was the same thing that infected Chie, but the red covered her entire head and even down into her chest cavity. Chie's was so limited but this was far different than how it affected her. Shizuru looked anxiously at her.

"What's wrong?"

"It's…just strange. I'll be able to fix it, but it looks like it's beginning to wear down her immune system." Yoko said as she typed. "It's just so much more aggressive than Chie's situation."

"But, didn't that happen to Chie's immune system as well?" Shizuru asked as she walked around to look at the screen.

"Only after I rebalanced the serotonin, Natsuki's is already starting to come down. But it's not fatal yet." Yoko sat down and franticly began work to fix the imbalance. Shizuru watched Natsuki as another gas, slightly blue this time filled the chamber. "This is going to take a while to fix since it's had more time to affect her body."

"You can do it though, right?" Shizuru asked. Yoko looked up at her.

"I promise I will, I just need some time." She continued her busy computer work as Shizuru took a deep breath.

"Then perhaps I should consult with the Queen about the other occurring matters now." She turned for the door and as she placed her hand on it, she glanced back at Natsuki.

_I'll be here._

* * *

Mashiro wore her typical white robe and blue trousers, after Aoi had kitty carried her from her room. She rubbed her eyes sleepily as she made her way down the hall. Already, this early in the morning something big has happened and it demanded her immediate attention. She was heading for the conference room in the castle to talk with Nao and whoever else. She had no idea what was going on, besides there was something going on at the Artai prison. This wasn't good. As she was walking down the hall, she caught a figure out of the corner of her eye from the left hall. She looked up to see the Graceful Amethyst walking up to her. Shizuru met her eyes and smiled weakly.

"Good morning, your majesty." She bowed slightly before walking up to her. Mashiro nodded lightly and they walked together to the conference room. "We have a lot to discuss…"

"Sounds like it." She sighed as they reached the room. Shizuru opened the door for her, revealing Nao sitting on one side, opposite a guard from the prison and a old man Mashiro didn't recognize. She greeted them all before taking a seat at the head of the table. Shizuru sat next to Nao as the older man stood up.

"It is an honor to meet you, Miss Mashiro Blan de Windbloom." His voice was much softer than his appearance. "My name is Marius; I am the warden of the Artai prison. I fear we have much to talk about…" Mashiro felt her heart sink. Maybe things wouldn't be so simple from those two dead guys here on out.

It's time to get serious.

* * *

Well, it may end up being short but I think the story will deliver what it was written for x3 I hope. I have some of the next one planned so I won't promise when it'll be out, but don't totally give up hope for this story yet!


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